Richard... uh, you got to love it when a Frenchman is England's most famous king
On the subject: Vlad was a vicious sob, a homicidal one as well, but a bloody effective ruler. He went a bit too far in his feud with the boyars though, and they delivered to the Turks (they could do business with the Turks, while Vlad spoiled their business). Reminds of the conduct of some Byzantine feudal lords... when Orhan got some momentum, they started swearing loyalty to the Ottomans and converted to Islam... nothing would stand in their way of "making business"...

...still pretty much the same, isn't it? When it's about money, nothing matters - no country, no allegiancies, no faith, no loyalty...